Husbands finishes year in fine style with fourth title

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Orlando Husbands clinched the treble by winning the National Blitz title. (BCF Pictures)

Husbands finishes year in fine style with fourth title

Barbados’ top chess player Orlando Husbands finished off the year in grand style by winning the Michael Forde Memorial Championship with a perfect record over the weekend to secure a fourth major title for 2020.

The 23-year-old International Master brushed aside each of his seven opponents and was crowned champion before the final round of games on Sunday at the Chess Centre on Exmouth Gap, Brandons, St. Michael.

Having secured 11 points in the FIDE ratings, the performance will push him to a career high rating of 2348 when the world governing body for chess updates its rankings list at the end of the month.

The triumph rounds off an amazing year for Husbands who achieved a national treble of senior titles for the second time by winning the National Open, Rapid and Blitz Championships – a feat he also accomplished in 2018.

Husbands started the Michael Forde Memorial Championship with a victory over Hannah Wilson when the tournament pushed off on December 10. He followed up with wins against Aaron Haynes, Cleveston Ifill, Emar Edwards, Louis Wilson, Kiarra Eversley and Adam Roachford

Ifill, the no. 2 seed who returned to returned to competitive chess in October after an absence of more than a decade, finished second with six points – his only defeat was to Husbands in the third round.

There was a thrilling battle for third place which went to Emar Edwards, who ended with four-and-a-half points. Edwards, the no. 3 seed, was among eight players separated by a half-point going into the final round.

Three players – Louis Wilson, Eversley and Tarquin Clark – all finished on four points and also won prizes in the process.

Louis Wilson took fourth place on the tie break and was the Best Player rated under 1600. Eversley was fifth and also won the prize for the Best Female while Clark, who was sixth, was the Best Player rated under 1400.

The Championship, the final event on the Barbados Chess Federation’s 2020 calendar, attracted 13 entrants. (BCF)

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Cleveston Ifill (left), who took second place, playing against Louis Wilson, who won the prize for the Best Player rated under 1600.
BCF-Emar-Edwards-vs-Adam-Roachford
Third-placed Emar Edwards (left) battling against Adam Roachford

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Husbands completes another national treble

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Orlando Husbands clinched the treble by winning the National Blitz title. (BCF Pictures)

Husbands completes another national treble

Barbados’ most decorated chess player over the past five years, Orlando Husbands, has completed an amazing treble of national titles for the second time.

The 23-year-old International Master secured his third major title for the year by narrowly winning the National Blitz title on Sunday.

Contested as an online event for the first time, the Championship was a straight fight between Husbands and 2019 champion Justin Blackman with both players finishing with eight out of a maximum nine points.

The first two tie-breaks failed to settle the deadlock but Husbands prevailed on the third tie-break to duplicate the treble he first achieved in 2018 when he became the first player to simultaneously hold the three major senior national championships – Open, Rapid and Blitz.

It was an exciting event in which Husbands suffered a shock defeat against 18-year-old Adam Roachford in the second round.

Husbands, however, was back on level terms with Blackman when he defeated the Caribbean Blitz Online champion in the fifth round. Neither player dropped a point for the final four rounds, forcing the Championship to be decided on the tie-breaks.

It was the second straight week that Husbands, who was crowned the National Open champion for third time in October, prevailed over Blackman for a title, having defeated the 29-year-old FIDE Master in a play-off to win the National Rapid Championship the previous Sunday.

Nitin Mahtani took third place in the fast-paced Blitz Championship with six-and-a-half points, having lost only to Husbands and Blackman.

Justin Parsons was fourth with six points and the top five was completed by 13-year-old Melvin Terence, who ended with five points.

Terence also won the prize for the Best Player rated under 1600, while Louis Wilson, who was sixth with four-and-a-half points, took the prize for the Best Player rated under 1400.

Kiarra Eversley, who completed the top half of the 14-player field with four-and-a-half points, was the Best Female.

The Barbados Chess Federation’s 2020 calendar of events will conclude with the Michael Forde Memorial Championship which starts on Thursday at the Chess Centre on Exmouth Gap, Brandons, St. Michael. It will run over seven rounds and concludes on December 20. (BCF)

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Justin Blackman took second place after he was edged on the tie-break.
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Kiarra Eversley was the Best Female.

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Prescod, Wilson tops among English-speaking Caribbean players

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Louis Wilson was the highest-placed finisher from the English-speaking Caribbean in the Under-16 Open section.
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Rory Prescod was the highest-placed competitor from the English-speaking Caribbean in the Under-12 Open category.

Prescod, Wilson tops among English-speaking Caribbean players

National junior champions Rory Prescod and Louis Wilson emerged as the top finishers from the English-speaking Caribbean in their categories in the Americas division of the FIDE Online World Cadets and Youth Rapid Chess Championships.

Prescod, the national Under-14 and Under-12 Open champion and Wilson, the national Under-16 champion, both finished the seven-round event with three points as the Bajans ended their campaign on Thursday night at the Chess Centre on Exmouth Gap, Brandons, St. Michael.

Wilson finished 22nd of 31 competitors in the Under-16 Open category while Prescod was 26th of 34 entrants in the Under-12 Open section.

Barbados players scored ten wins during the last two rounds on the final night of competition with Prescod and national Under-18 champion Aaron Haynes leading the way with two victories each.

Prescod defeated Kyle Couchman of Guyana in the penultimate round and followed up with a win against Jaheim Smart of Jamaica to complete his third straight victory.

Haynes, who also ended with three points in the Under-18 Open category, won against Ethan Lee of Guyana in the sixth round and ended with another win over Jonathan Solomon of Antigua and Barbuda.

Apart from Wilson, Prescod, and Haynes, two other Barbadians finished with three points – Vanessa Greenidge and Gaybrianna Moore, who both competed in the Under-16 Girls’ division.

Greenidge, the newly crowned ladies national champion and a joint national Under-16 female champion, finished 17th of 27 competitors to register the highest placing by a Barbadian at the event.

Moore defeated Morales Gomez of Panama in the sixth round where Barbados also gained wins from Azaria Johnson and Yhden Layne. Johnson defeated Cadeau Merisena of Haiti in the Under-16 Girls’ category while Layne won against another Haitian, Kimberlie Dunat in the Under-14 Girls’ age-group.

In the final round, Barbados’ five victories came from Prescod, Wilson, Haynes, Yeshua Hill and Kiarra Eversley.

Wilson defeated Jamesley Decimus of Haiti, Hill won over Joshua Khan of Guyana in the Under-16 Open section and Eversley got the better of another Guyanese, Sasha Shariff in the Under-18 Girls’ division.

The FIDE Online World Cadets and Youth Rapid Chess Championships, staged for the first time in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, is being played in continental divisions ahead of the final stage. The Championships have attracted more than 1 300 participants from 114 countries. (BCF)

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Greenidge, Wilson lead Bajans’ effort at World Online Youth Championships

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Vanessa Greenidge won twice on the second night competition to add to a victory on the first day in the Under-16 Girls’ category.
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Louis Wilson scored two wins in the Under-16 Open section.

Greenidge, Wilson lead Bajans’ effort at World Online Youth Championships

Newly crowned ladies national champion Vanessa Greenidge and national Under-16 Open champion Louis Wilson both scored two wins to lead an improved performance by Barbados players on the second night of competition in the Americas division of the FIDE Online World Cadets and Youth Rapid Chess Championships.

Greenidge, who also registered a win on the opening day, defeated Katherine Mollo of Bolivia in the fourth round and followed up with a victory over Abril Godoy of Argentina in the Under-16 Girls’ category when the Bajans continued their campaign on Wednesday night at the Chess Centre on Exmouth Gap, Brandons, St. Michael.

Wilson, competing in the Under-16 Open section, won against fellow Barbadian Yeshua Hill in the third round and also defeated Joshua Khan of Guyana in the fifth round.

There were 12 victories for Barbados players on the night as Kyle Sandiford, Azaria Johnson, Gaybrianna Moore, Yhden Layne, Rory Prescod, Hannah Wilson, Aaron Jaikaran and Tarquin Clark also scored wins.

Sandiford, playing in the Under-18 Open division, won another all-Barbados clash against Aaron Haynes in the third round in which Johnson defeated Anasie Fredericks of Guyana in the Under-16 Girls’ section.

In the fourth round, Hannah Wilson claimed her second victory in the Under-12 Girls’ age-group by outplaying Araya Mayorga of Costa Rica; Jaikaran defeated Max White of the Bahamas in the Under-10 Open category and Clark won his Under-14 Open game by default.

Apart from Greenidge and Louis Wilson, Barbados gained three other victories in the fifth round with Moore getting the better of Anasie Fredericks of Guyana in the Under-16 Girls’ category, Layne winning against Maliha Rajkumar of Guyana in the Under-14 Girls’ age-group and Prescod defeating Azolin Melchisedek of Haiti in the Under-12 Open division.

Barbados also achieved four draws on the second night through Hannah Wilson, Layne, Hill and Jaikaran.

The juniors are playing on Tornelo which is a new online platform to them. Additionally, an online tournament is based on connectivity to the internet and some of Barbados’ players experienced difficulties which resulted in them losing a game.

The final two rounds of the Americas division are scheduled for Thursday at 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. (BCF)

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Wins for three Bajans at Online Youth Rapid

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Wins for three Bajans at Online Youth Rapid

There were victories for three Barbados players on the opening day of competition in the Americas division of the inaugural FIDE Online World Cadets and Youth Rapid Chess Championships.

Hannah Wilson, Gaybrianna Moore and Vanessa Greenidge reach registered a point in the first two rounds of the global event as the Bajans pushed off their campaign on Tuesday night from the Chess Centre on Exmouth Gap, Brandons, St. Michael.

It was a tough night of competition for the 14-member Barbados team while facing international opponents with significantly higher ratings.

In the opening round, Wilson, the reigning national Under-14 and Under-12 Female champion, defeated Lucy Gao of Canada in the Under-12 Girls’ section, while Moore, the joint national Under-16 female champion, won by default against Dalila Barahona of El Salvador in the Under-16 Girls’ age-group.

Greenidge, the newly crowned Ladies national champion and a joint national Under-16 female champion, scored the lone win for Barbados in the second round by overcoming Sandy-Rose Bilodeau-Savaria of Canada in the Under-16 Girls’ category.

Kyle Sandiford, the national Under-20 Open champion, played to a draw against Luna Hernandez of Mexico in the Under-18 Open division.

The competition continues on Wednesday with three rounds of games, starting at 7 p.m. (BCF)

 

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Husbands retains National Rapid title in dramatic fashion

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Aaron Haynes (left) and Adam Roachford were two of the three players who shared the prize for the best player with a rating of under 1400.

Husbands retains National Rapid title in dramatic fashion

Barbados’ top chess player Orlando Husbands retained the National Rapid title in dramatic fashion over the weekend.

The 23-year-old International Master claimed his second national title for the year after winning a decisive play-off against top seed Justin Blackman when the two-day Championship climaxed on Sunday night at the Chess Centre on Exmouth Gap, Brandons, St. Michael.

Contested as an online event, the Championship was decided by a play-off after both Husbands and Blackman finished with six-and-a-half out of a maximum seven points – they played to a draw when they faced off in the fourth round.

The play-off was battled as an over-the-board match-up and Husbands, who won the National Open title in October, triumphed after Blackman’s time on the clock expired.

With the victory, Husbands is in a position to repeat the unprecedented national treble he achieved in 2018 by also claiming the National Blitz Championship which is scheduled for Sunday as an online event.

Husbands and Blackman, 29, winner of the Caribbean Blitz Online Tournament last August were well clear of their rivals but there was a keen contest for third place as four players finished on four-and-a-half points.

Justin Parsons took third place on the tie-break ahead of Nitin Mahtani, Cleveston Ifill and Emar Edwards.

Kyle Sandiford, who placed seventh with four points, won the prize for the best player with a rating of under 1600, while Louis Wilson, Aaron Haynes and Adam Roachford, who each finished with four points to complete the top ten, shared the prize for the best player with a rating of under 1400.

Hannah Wilson and Azaria Johnson, who each collected three-and-a-half points, shared the prize for the Best Female.

Husbands started last Saturday’s opening day with a victory against Kiarra Eversley and also won against Edwards and Ifill before drawing with Blackman. In the final three rounds on Sunday, he defeated Mahtani, Parsons and Sandiford.

Blackman won against Haynes, Johnson and Parsons on the first day before defeating Sandiford, Mahtani and Louis Wilson on the second day.

The Championship, which attracted 25 players, also served as preparation for a 14-member Barbados team competing in the inaugural FIDE Online World Cadets and Youth Rapid Chess Championships. (BCF)

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Azaria Johnson was one of two players to share the prize for the Best Female.
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Aaron Haynes (left) and Adam Roachford were two of the three players who shared the prize for the best player with a rating of under 1400.

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